How to enable the secret YouTube Dark Theme

The colour white in the technology industry is synonymous with clean, minimalist and eye catching designs and layouts. Apple is one of the biggest proponents of this design trend. It is also the base colour for almost all websites on the Internet, which has become a problem for night owls who like to browse content on portable devices whilst in bed and in the dark. With that said, there is a shift toward utilising darker colours palettes for web design and user interface (UI) elements in applications. As such, Google has been secretly testing a YouTube dark theme as a part of its new UI rollout.

Much like how Twitter added a night mode to its official application, other technology companies are slowly following suit. Although not publicly available, the YouTube dark theme is easily accessible to the adventurous souls who enjoy testing new product features – or for those who simply want to give their eyes a bit of a rest from the retina blasting luminescence of pure white backgrounds.

Activating the brand new YouTube UI is actually extremely easy. Especially when compared to all of the hacks and extensions that have come before it. This time around, all you have to do is choose to be a part of testing YouTube’s new design. After that, that sweet dark theme is only one preference pane away.

To gain access to the new UI and that retina saving YouTube dark theme, head on over to youtube.com/new and opt in. Thereafter, the all new YouTube experience will be activated, one that includes a fantastic new and default wide screen view for videos.

Once you have opted in to the new YouTube experience, simply do the following to activate the dark theme:

Click on your profile icon

Click on Dark Theme

Switch the toggle to on or off

Enjoy

Although not for everyone, the Youtube dark theme certainly does make it much easier to consume content in poor lightning. By that, I obviously mean whilst lying in bed waiting for sleep to come. I have also found that it works extremely well in general, and has become my preferred mode on the platforms that currently support it.

Owner, founder, editor and contributor at Vamers, Hans has a vested interest in geek culture and the interactive entertainment industry. With a Masters degree in Communications and Ludology, he is well read and versed in matters relating to video games and communication media, among many other topics of interest.

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